In Memory of
Morris M. Faitelewicz
September 7, 2015
Obituary
Morris, his wife Beth and their future son-in-law Yehuda Bayme, died in a car accident early this morning.
I will post an Obituary here when one is available.
May Morris, his wife Beth and future son-in-law Yehuda Bayme,
rest in peace.
If you click on Morris's picture I have a link to a
video of the funeral. Following is not an Obituary
but from a Jewish Newspaper about the funeral held for
the Faitelewicz family:
They
davened for years at the historic Bialystoker Synagogue,
made bar mitzvahs for their two sons there and today,
for the last time, Morris and Beth Faitelewicz returned
to the landmark shul, this time for their joint funeral.
Mourners overflowed onto the Bialystoker Place where
dozens of police officers in full dress uniform and an
honor guard stood at attention in tribute Morris
Faitelewicz who served as an inspector and officer with
the NYPD’s auxiliary police for over 40 years. Two of
the Faitelewiczes three children, sons Yaakov and Avi,
were present at the funeral while their daughter Shani
remained hospitalized and was unable to attend.
Among those who eulogized the Faitelewiczes were Rabbi
Zvi Yaakov Romm, rabbi of the Bialystoker Syngogue,
Heshy Jacobs of Lower East Side Hatzolah and several
relatives, including Rabbi Mordechai Pitem and Dr
Michael Pitem.
Both Yaakov and Avi Faitelewicz spoke about their
parents and a letter written by Shani Faitelewicz to her
parents was read aloud by Rabbi Romm, with the
Faitelewicz children expressing gratitude to their
parents.
A police bugler played taps outside the shul at the
conclusion of the approximately two hour long funeral
and somber faced NYPD officers led the Hatzolah
ambulances carrying the Faitelewiczes, as hundreds of
shattered mourners followed behind, accompanying the
couple who had been described as “a fixture on the Lower
East Side” to their final resting place at New
Montefiore Cemetery on Long Island.
Beth Pitem Faitelewicz worked as a nurse at Beth Israel
Medical Center for over 29 years, arranging her schedule
so that she could be available to her children. Known
for her perpetual smile, her optimism and her incredible
warmth she loved to dance at weddings in order to bring
simcha to the family members. In addition to her
children and her two brothers, Beth Faitelewicz is
survived by her father, Rabbi Bentzion Pitem.
Ellen Cohen, who has known both Faitelewiczes for years,
remembered a phone call she got soon after her
engagement from Beth Faitelewicz.
“She called to offer me her wedding gown,” Mrs. Cohen
told VIN News. “That’s the kind of person she was.”
The two came full circle as Mrs. Cohen received a text
from Beth Faitelewicz the morning she died on almost the
same topic, this time in reverse.
“She sent me a text asking if she could borrow my dress
to wear to her daughter’s wedding,” recalled Mrs. Cohen.
As a couple, the Faitelewiczes were very much in synch
with each other. Both were described as kind hearted,
giving people who were very close to each other and
their friends and lavished that same sense of warmth on
their three children.
“You never had to ask twice for a favor,” said one
neighbor who asked to remain anonymous. “They always
opened their home to all of the young adults in the
neighborhood. They were part of the community on so many
levels.”
“What was yours was yours and what was theirs was
yours,” added Mrs. Cohen. “They were the first ones to
invite anyone for a meal and would do anything for
anyone.”
Both Faitelewiczes leaped into action on 9/11 with
Morris Faitelewicz racing to the World Trade Center
while Beth Faitelewicz walked to work on her day off,
waiting to tend to the expected casualties, which sadly,
never arrived. Ironically, the Faitelewiczes passed away
on the 23rd day of Elul, exactly 14 years to the day
after the deadly September 11th attacks.
Morris Faitelewicz worked for the Port Authority for 32
years, was a Title 1 instructor who taught English and
math, taught emergency cardiac care classes at area
hospitals and schools for 19 years and was the owner of
a business that specialized in cardiac care consulting
for hospitals and emergency care facilities. He served
with the NYPD’s Auxiliary Police Auxiliary Patrol
Support Unit, Auxiliary Emergency Services Recue Unit
and Rescue Services for over 41 years and had been with
Hatzolah for decades as well, where he was best known as
ES17.
The fact that Morris Faitelewicz, who also sat on
Community Board 3, served in so many different
capacities made him an incredible resource to other
volunteered in multiple arenas.
“He was one of the first people to reach out to me when
I got on the FDNY,” said Moshe Starshefsky, a volunteer
firefighter and Hatzolah member who lives in Passaic.
“He was extremely knowledgeable, the kind of guy I
looked up to. Any kind of question you had, he had an
answer based on his experience.”
Stareshefsky said he would frequently bump into Morris
Faitelewicz when he was on the Lower East Side.
“I would run into him at a shiva call, if I was getting
something to eat in the area or if we were in the
hospital on a call at the same time,” said Stareshefsky.
“Every time I ran into him it was like we had just seen
each other and he always said hello and shared a story
with me. Occasionally I would see his wife in Beth
Israel and it was nice to see a frum nurse there.”
Filling Morris Faitelewicz’s shoes will be extremely
difficult, said Stareshefsky.
“Everything he did was about helping people and the void
he left is enormous,” said Stareshefsky. “He was a
family man, but on top of that he held so many different
positions. So many agencies and organizations are now
going to have to scramble to fill that void, dozens of
them, because that’s the kind of guy he was.”
Despite his many responsibilities, Morris Faitelewicz
was never too busy for his children and
both Yaakov and Avi Faitelewicz also credited their
mother for juggling her job and her familial
responsibilities with incredible grace.
“They both said how their parents were their life,” said
David Kornblum who attended today’s levaya. “No matter
what was going on, Morris had time for all of his kids,
even when he was doing four jobs. Mom always had a smile
on her face. Even when she worked the whole day, she
made supper with a smile.”
The recent engagement of Shani Faitelewicz to her long
time beau, Yehuda Bayme, filled both Morris and Beth
Faitelewicz with incredible joy and they were eagerly
anticipating the upcoming chasana, which had just
recently been set for early 2016.
“One of her friends had said that they had just gotten a
text from Beth that morning asking them to hold the date
for the wedding,” recalled Kornblum.
Both the Faitelewiczes and the Lower East Side had
welcomed Yehuda Bayme with open arms.
“Yehuda was from Riverdale but he moved here recently,”
said a Lower East Side resident. “He would come for
Shabbosim often and he became part of the community so
it was natural for him to move here. He was a really
nice guy and he became part of the family.”
Bayme would wake up early to drive his kallah to work so
she wouldn’t have to travel by train, returning
afterwards to the Lower East Side for davening and a
shiur before heading off to work. Bayme’s funeral was
held yesterday at the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale and
he was buried at the Cedar Park Beth El Cemetery in
Paramus.
The Faitelewicz’s passing leaves a gargantuan hole in
the fabric of the Lower East Side’s Jewish community.
“Everyone here is in shock and utter devastation,” said
Jacob Goldman, who runs the Lower East Side Facebook
group. “These are people who have always been involved
and cared for the community. With Morris, he was
involved in Hatzolah, the community board, the police
auxiliary and he was active in the shul. As an ER nurse,
Beth was there for anyone who needed anything and you
knew you could count on her. If you needed a bandage
removed, Beth would do it. If an elderly person needed
shots, Beth would take care of it. They were just
wonderful people and everyone loved them.”
Morris and Beth Faitelewicz and Yehuda Bayme were all
honored today for their volunteerism on the floor of the
House of Representatives by Congresswoman Nydia
Velazquez, whose district includes the Lower East Side.
“This tragedy is being felt deeply in the Lower East
side,” Congresswoman Velazquez. “Not only were they
respected community members but Morris and Beth had been
involved in response and recovery efforts on the 9/11…I
ask my colleagues to join me in honoring the memories of
Morris and Beth Faitelewicz and Yehuda Bayme.”